Tag Archives: brooch

Celebrate your Scottish heritage (or admiration for the highlands) with this lovely Scottish Thistle brooch. It’s pretty simple to make and it took me around an hour to sew together and finish off. The thistle is one of the most enduring emblems of Scotland and this brooch is the perfect thing to wear on Burns Night, Hogmanay or St Andrew’s Day.

I confess that the idea for this craft came when I was scrolling through Pinterest and I came across something similar. The version I spotted looked quite basic and something for children to make, you can see that version here. I took the original idea and turned it into a brooch an adult would want to wear on a jacket or coat. I’m really pleased with how my Scottish Thistle brooch has turned out and it is now on my winter coat ready for showing off later.

Make your own Scottish Thistle Brooch

You will need:
Green felt
Large green button
Green and purple embroidery thread
Brooch back or a safety pin

Instructions:
With a pen or pencil, sketch a thistle shape on your felt (take a look at the sketch below as a guide) making sure there’s enough space for the button with some room around it. Carefully cut out the thistle shape. Pin the thistle to the felt and use it as a stencil to cut out a second thistle shape. Pin them together.

Using the green embroidery thread, stitch the two felt thistles together. I’ve sewn them so the stitching is a little feature around the edges of the felt. Once you’ve sewn the thistles together, take your purple embroidery thread and in long stitches sew the purple prickles on the top.

Take your green button and sew it in place with the purple embroidery thread. Finish off the detail on the thistle with some green stitches across the thistle leaves. To complete your brooch, sew on the brooch back or safety pin on the back of your thistle. I stitched my safety pin behind the button.

Your Scottish Thistle brooch is now complete and ready to wear with pride!